French researchers say that we are controlled more than we might
think by external and manipulated variables – like the volume of music in a
bar, and that louder music will cause us unknowingly to drink more and more
quickly.

Nicolas Gueguen, of The University of Southern Brittany led the
study which was published in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.
During the study, university researchers
observed the drinking habits of people at 2 local bars, and recorded how many
beers they ordered, and noted exactly how many minutes it took them to finish a
drink. They recorded their findings firstly while background music was played
at a normal 72 decibels, and compared that with when music played at a
significantly louder 88 decibels.

The Results

Turning the music up
caused the average number of drinks consumed to rise from 2.6 to 3.4 per
customer. Louder music also caused patrons to drink faster, 1 drink taking 14.51
minutes under normal conditions, and 11.45 minutes with louder music.

The researchers say that
the small study size precludes them from drawing any statistically significant
conclusions, but they suspect that louder music influences our drinking in 2
ways. Firstly, the louder music increases arousal levels in the brain – which like
faster music, increases the speed at which we drink.

Secondly, they speculate
that louder music just makes it a bit tougher to converse, leaving more time
free for drinking.

Here are 2 facts about alcoholism: It tends to get worse over time (it is progressive) and most people experience a fairly similar progression of symptoms and consequences. Here is a timeline which charts the progressive experiences of alcoholism through the early, middle and late stages. If you have a drinking problem, find out where you fall on the timeline and consider what’s coming in the future. Read Article